<p><a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/files/2012/09/food-web.jpg" title=""></a></p><div class="vert-display-toggle collapsible relative flex flex-col items-center "><div class="vert-unit mt-4 mb-3 top-20"><div ad-type="mobile-desktop" class="ad-wrapper vert min-h-boombox flex items-start justify-center" data-ad-mapping="inline" data-ad-slot="Discover/inline-ad" id="div-inline-ad-0"></div></div><span aria-label="Advertisement" class="text-ad mt-1 text-[11px] uppercase">Advertisement</span></div><figure class="fr-image-container fr-full"><img srcset="https://cdn.discovermagazine.com/assets/image/14652/food-web-s.webp 480w, https://cdn.discovermagazine.com/assets/image/14652/food-web-m.webp 660w" sizes="(max-width: 480px) 480px, 660px" src="https://cdn.discovermagazine.com/assets/image/14652/food-web-s.jpg" title="food-web.jpg" loading="lazy" data-id="14652"><figcaption class="fr-figcaption"><p class="fr-caption"></p></figcaption></figure><p>New England's fisheries are in such bad shape that the Department of Commerce <a href="http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/hingham/2012/09/feds_declare_new_england_fishi.html" title="">has now declared</a> them a disaster. It's not merely the sheer volume of fish we're catching that explains the woeful state of these fish stocks. Even in places where governments have established strict limits on fishing, some fisheries have been unexpectedly slow to recover. That's because fish don't exist in isolation. They're part of ecological networks. And when we hammer these networks, they can suddenly flip into a new state. Getting them back to their old state can be surprisingly hard. In the new issue of <em>Scientific American</em>, I've written a <a href="https://sciam.cn/article.cfm?id=ecosystems-on-the-brink" title="">feature</a> on recent research into how ecological networks flip, along with attempts to detect warning signs of food webs on the brink (subscription required). P.S. A needless snarky commenter <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2012/09/24/when-food-webs-flip-my-new-story-in-scientific-american/#comment-92124" title="">objected</a> to having to pay for the article. As I pointed out to him or her, if you want to read two lengthy scientific reviews on the subject for free, <a href="http://www.cnr.uidaho.edu/fish510/PDF/Strong%20and%20Frank%202010.pdf" title="">here</a> is a pdf and <a href="http://alaskageographic.org/uploads/pdf/trophic--downgrading-article-2012.pdf" title="">here's</a> another one. [<a href="http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/Task_rpts/2002/nsmason10-1.html" title="">Image: Lake Michigan food web/NOAA</a>] </p>

The New England fisheries disaster threatens fish stocks, revealing the fragile nature of ecological networks and their recovery. 

Planet Earth

When Food Webs Flip: My New Story in Scientific American

Article

News

Carl Zimmer

Science

New England's fisheries are in such bad shape that the Department of Commerce has now declared them a disaster. It's not merely the sheer volume of fish we're catching that explains the woeful state of these fish stocks. Even in places where governments have established strict limits on fishing, some fisheries have been unexpectedly slow to recover. That's because fish don't exist in isolation. They're part of ecological networks. And when we hammer these networks, they can suddenly flip into a new state. Getting them back to their old state can be surprisingly hard. In the new issue of Scientific American, I've written a feature on recent research into how ecological networks flip, along with attempts to detect warning signs of food webs on the brink (subscription required). P.S. A needless snarky commenter objected to having to pay for the article. As I pointed out to him or her, if you want to read two lengthy scientific reviews on the subject for free, here is a pdf and here's another one. [Image: Lake Michigan food web/NOAA]

The New England fisheries disaster threatens fish stocks, revealing the fragile nature of ecological networks and their recovery.

Discover Magazine’s award-winning journalism inspires and informs, delivering thought-provoking content that sparks meaningful conversations. With a focus on groundbreaking developments in science, technology, and the world around us, Discover highlights the impact of these innovations on our daily lives.

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